The Dreaded Acute Compartment Syndrome

When obtaining intracompartmental pressures, place the catheter within 5cm of the fracture level, with the transducer secured at the level of the measured compartment. Make sure to keep the catheter tip outside of the actual... read more

PTSD Phenomena After Critical Illness

Experiencing critical illness and intensive care can be extremely stressful. Roughly 1 in 5 critical illness survivors have clinically significant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the year after intensive... read more

Stopping ICU delirium by getting patients moving

Doctor says the treatment plan makes a 'massive difference' to those in critical care. Any hospital stay can be traumatic. But 30 percent of patients in intensive care units experience ICU delirium. The rate for... read more

Breaking it Down: Post Intensive Care Syndrome and Recovery – Emotions

The emotional aftermath of critical illness/injury is something that often catches people by surprise but can have a significant impact on daily life. People who have been critically ill/injured often describe difficulty... read more

The Needs of Families of Trauma Intensive Care Patients

This mixed methods study identified that families of trauma patients have different needs to families of general patients and the nurses rated the needs of the families of trauma patients as less important than the families... read more

Predictors of Return to Work in Survivors of Critical Illness

Major trauma, lower GCS and increased hospital length of stay predicted inability to return to work due to health at six-months post-ICU admission. Compared to employed patients, those who had not returned to work reported... read more

Music Helps Prevent Delirium in Elderly Critical Care Patients

A randomized controlled trial demonstrates that music intervention to prevent delirium among older patients is one of few strategies that provide support in a critical care setting. This study builds on non-pharmacologic... read more

Giving plasma in helicopters, before hospital, may save trauma patients

Giving plasma to trauma victims during air transport, rather than waiting until arrival at the hospital, saved lives, according to the results of a study that involved patients treated aboard MetroHealth Medical Center's... read more

The Effect of Alcohol Consumption on the Risk of ARDS

Chronic high alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of ARDS. This finding suggests that patients admitted to hospital should be screened for chronic alcohol use. Seventeen observational studies (177,674 people)... read more

Prehospital Plasma during Air Medical Transport in Trauma Patients at Risk for Hemorrhagic Shock

In injured patients at risk for hemorrhagic shock, the prehospital administration of thawed plasma was safe and resulted in lower 30-day mortality and a lower median prothrombin-time ratio than standard-care resuscitation.... read more

I Had PTSD After a Critical Illness. Apparently That’s Fairly Common

The emotional trauma of a near-death experience causes ongoing emotional and physical symptoms in one-third of ICU patients. PICS doesn't have a time limitation and can be triggered by almost anything. I was suddenly anxious... read more

Choice of Fluid Therapy in the Initial Management of Sepsis, Severe Sepsis, and Septic Shock

Sepsis results in disruption of the endothelial glycocalyx layer and damage to the microvasculature, resulting in interstitial accumulation of fluid and subsequently edema. Fluid resuscitation is a mainstay in the initial... read more

Why is trauma activation so expensive?

I can understand hospitals charging a fee for trauma activations to help recover some of the costs of having a trauma service. The staff may require some special training. Managing the service, collecting data, and other... read more

Trauma

Supported by numerous x-rays, CT scans, plus informative tables throughout, this trusted reference begins with an informative look at kinematics and the mechanisms of trauma injury. Subsequent chapters provide useful background... read more

Trauma

Intracranial Pressure Thresholds in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Pro

Teleologically, the mammalian brain has evolved to be the central component of life. It coordinates afferent and efferent neural pathways, integrates neurohormonal responses and, in humans, produces higher cortical effects... read more

Survival outcomes after prolonged ICU length of stay among trauma patients: The evidence for never giving up

Prolonged intensive care unit length of stay (ICU-LOS) is associated with high mortality for medical and surgical patients. Existing literature suggests that this may not be true for trauma patients.The results reveal that... read more

Peer Support in Critical Care

Peer support appeared to reduce psychologic morbidity and increase social support. The evidence for peer support in critically ill populations is limited. There is a need for well-designed and rigorously reported research... read more

The Elevated Troponin: What else besides ACS could cause troponin elevation?

The increased troponin used to be a straight ticket to the cardiology service. Now, the picture isn't so clear. What do you need to consider in the patient with elevated troponin? Cardiac troponins consist of three proteins:... read more

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

With poignant insight and humor, Frank Vertosick Jr., MD, describes some of the greatest challenges of his career, including a six-week-old infant with a tumor in her brain, a young man struck down in his prime by paraplegia,... read more

When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery

Hurt: The Inspiring, Untold Story of Trauma Care

Told through the eyes of a surgeon who has flown on rescue helicopters, resuscitated patients in trauma centers in Houston and Chicago, and operated on hundreds of trauma victims of all ages, Hurt takes us on a tour of the... read more

Hurt: The Inspiring, Untold Story of Trauma Care

The Contemporary Timing of Trauma Deaths

In this study, the distribution of trauma deaths no longer appears to be trimodal. This may reflect advances in trauma and ICU care, and the widespread adaption of damage control principles. Early deaths, however, remains... read more

Haemostatic Resuscitation in Trauma: The Next Generation

The next generation of haemostatic resuscitation aims at applying a ratio 1:1:1 driven strategy while using antifibrinolytics, haemostatic monitoring and avoiding critical fibrinogen deficiency by substitution. Mortality... read more